The Modern Slave
By Josh Stylman July 31, 2025
“The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he’s in prison.”
—Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Most people hear ‘modern slavery’ and picture trafficking victims or sweatshop workers—suffering that’s clearly visible, obviously wrong, and comfortably distant from their daily lives. What if the most effective slavery in history isn’t hidden—but public, celebrated, and defended by the very people it enslaves?
...The genius of contemporary slavery isn’t the whip, it’s the W-2. It’s not the chain, it’s the mortgage payment. It’s not the overseer with a gun, it’s the IRS agent with a lien.
...The modern slave doesn’t just surrender their labor—they surrender their cells. Your nervous system is being mapped for networking. Your DNA is being collected, stored, and potentially auctioned in bankruptcy proceedings.
... The slavery of the developed world operates through what we might call the ‘white glove model’—polished, comfortable, and marketed as benefit rather than bondage. Traditional slaves are told they’re property; modern slaves are told they’re customers. Traditional slaves are controlled through fear; modern slaves through convenience. Traditional slaves are kept ignorant; modern slaves are overwhelmed with curated information that shapes their conclusions.
... The financial enslavement operates through debt that can never be repaid because the ‘money’ used to pay it is itself debt. Federal Reserve notes aren’t currency—they’re IOUs in a system where every dollar represents an obligation to private banks. You’re trying to pay off debt with debt instruments, which is mathematically impossible.
... Perhaps most brilliantly, the system has convinced its slaves to fight each other instead of recognizing their shared bondage.
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